The increase rate will put the city on course to have five million cars on the roads by year's end.

Li Kang, a 28-year-old Beijing local, said her home is only five km away from her workplace in Guomao (international trade center), but it takes a taxi 40 minutes to "creep there".

"Riding a bus to the subway station is even more time-consuming. When I just decided to switch back to a bike lately, the news said that air pollution is unbearable in the city."

Many netizens claiming to spend far more than 52 minutes commuting suggested "strict traffic control that was once employed during the 2008 Olympic Games should be reactivated".

Time calculations in the research examine five values: distribution of industries and demographics, average distance to work, per capita road length, percentage of multi-dimensions in traffic systems, and percentage of people using public transport.

Diverse means of transport, including working, cycling, public transport and cars, were also calculated, according to Niu.